


Steve Rogers Didn't Go With The Traditional Honeymoon

by ashdeanmanns



Series: Stucky One-Shots and Shorts [1]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, F/M, I Don't Even Know, M/M, One Shot, Pining, Road Trips, Stucky - Freeform, Walmart, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:15:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22079812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashdeanmanns/pseuds/ashdeanmanns
Summary: Bucky was destined to be in love with his childhood best friend for the rest of his life. Steve and Peggy were destined to get married.Or, so everyone thought.As best man, Bucky's job was to talk the groom through cold feet and keep him calm. But if leaving would keep him calm, how could he refuse that?So Bucky did the only thing he could think to do - he removed Steve from the environment. Little did he know that would involve a cross country road trip to the Grand Canyon.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Series: Stucky One-Shots and Shorts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732867
Comments: 2
Kudos: 78





	Steve Rogers Didn't Go With The Traditional Honeymoon

**Author's Note:**

> There's nothing I can really tag.
> 
> This is the third time trying to post this. Ao3 is being a jerk.
> 
> I hope you guys like it!

Bucky smiled and waved at the "florist", calling a sweet "thank you!" over his shoulder as he darted up the back porch steps.

The wedding was very Steve-and-Peggy. Friends and family were the only persons invited. Lights were strung up between tree branches, hovering over the entire backyard and covering it in a steady blanket of spun gold. They had picnic benches that had bouquets on top, filled with red and orange carnations and wrapped chocolate bars, flat multi-colored glass beads surrounding the centerpieces on the grey tablecloths. Everything came from friends--T'Challa supplied the flowers, and had just brought more that would go in random spots around the backyard. Tony had built the benches, and was going to donate them to the various parks around town after the wedding. The two wedding parties--besides Steve and Peggy, they weren't allowed to see it until the ceremony--had pitched in to make up the backyard the night before, and were now adding the finishing touches. Bucky and Angie were the power team, ordering people to fix something that had fallen or to move what needed moved, until everything was perfect. Meanwhile, mostly everyone else who was part of the wedding party were inside, getting the kitchen ready for the potluck everyone had agreed to. Sam and Sharon brought shredded chicken, Miss Sarah brought mashed potatoes and corn, and so on and so forth.

Everything was going good. Bucky was proud. He was as happy as he could be when the love of his life was marrying someone else.

He wasn't jealous or vindictive. The love had been there for so long that it was just a simple part of him. It was somewhat easy, engrained in him; like the subconscious breaths he took when he couldn't get to sleep, or the way he rolled his wrists after writing for too long. He was truly happy for Steve--because above whatever Bucky felt, Steve Rogers was, first and foremost, his childhood best friend. Their memories were filled with movies and sleepovers, sitting in the old navy blue Beetle at the special Horror Weekends showings at the drive-in.

He closed the sliding door behind him, closing himself into the empty living room of Steve and Peggy's home. Their house was on a mostly secluded street, which really came in handy when they had to host events. Bucky and Natasha had already spoken to the neighbors, telling them the big news and that there would be cars swarming the street, and to just contact them if there were any real disturbances. Mrs. Windermere wished Steve and Peggy a happy marriage and said that she wouldn't make a peep about a thing. Mr. Johnson waved Angie off with air that smelled of stale beer. Many were passive, cooperating with them.

Bucky worked his way through the living room, stepping around the coffee table. He retreated down the hall to the guest room, where Steve was hiding out until the ceremony in two hours.

He opened the door, and stopped with his hand on the knob as Steve whirled around; golden hair a mess, suit wrinkled and tie strung over his shoulder, crystal blue eyes blown wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Steve whispered, "I can't do this."

______________________________

_Bucky and Steve grew up together. Their mothers were in the same public room at the hospital as they were going through contractions and gave birth at_ _roughly_ _the same_ _time_ _. When Bucky was brought in to see his little sister, he was more interested in the woman with the_ _thin_ whisps _of blond hair, who was crying and holding a sickly thin baby._

_As they grew up, they became partners in crime. They turned all of Becca's clothes inside out, switched all the drawers in her dresser. Then Bucky's other little siblings were born, and as they grew_ _up_ , _the boys had more victims._

_To say the least, they were grounded a lot. But Bucky was happy staying in his room alone. It was as quiet as it_ _could_ _be. Until his dad caught on and made him sit in the living room._

______________________________

Door now closed, Bucky rushed forward. "What do you mean, 'you can't do this'? Man, _you_ _proposed_ to her!" This was one of his jobs, handle cold feet, but it was one he had no idea how to do. Part of him cheered. He wouldn't have to live with knowing that he willingly handed the love of his life away. Part of him shriveled. Peggy was going to be devastated if this went any further.

But Bucky was ultimately Steve's friend. Not hers.

Steve pushed himself up, meeting him in the middle with shaking hands. His hands never shook. "I-I can't do this," he repeated. He then grabbed onto Bucky's lapels, pulling him in. Bucky let him, still shocked into silence. "I love her, but I don't _love her_. This all has made me realize that I can't do this to her."

"So you're going to break her heart?" he exclaimed, throwing his hands out to either side. "Because you don't _love her_ love her? Jesus, Steve--!"

He shook his head, shoving Bucky away. "I know--I know it's stupid." His hands, which hovered over his temples, clenched into sudden frustrated fists. "I can't explain it. But I can't do this to her. Buck, get me out." He begged, "Please don't make me do this."

Bucky sighed, raking a hand through his done-up hair. "Steve, I..." Finally, he gave in. "Fine. Let's go. I've got you."

______________________________

_Bucky had been friends with Steve's first bully._ _A jealous, cruel kid. Billy cornered little asthmatic Stevie in preschool, when Bucky had fallen off the top of the play equipment and had to go to the nurse._

_Bucky had come back near the end of recess and saw his best friend in a heap between the_ _school_ _and tall metal fence, face bloody. He suddenly hated Billy with everything he had in his little four-year-old body, and in return gave him a bloody nose to rival the one he had given little Stevie._

_He didn't regret it, even when he had to take a few days off from classes and wasn't allowed to see_ _his_ _friend._

______________________________

Steve and Bucky closed their car doors respectively, both letting out the breaths they had been holding. Before anyone could see them, Bucky stuck the key in the ignition and turned it, starting the engine. Beginning to back out, he asked, "Where to?"

Steve stared down at the dashboard, arms loosely crossed around his stomach. The sun traced his hair like paint on a thin brush, turning his hair into the spun gold Bucky had always thought of it to be. He shrugged. "Anywhere you want to go."

______________________________

_Life got weird in fifth grade._

_Bucky learned the word "gay." Everyone thought that he was that, and he had no clue why. When he and Steve got home, he immediately ran to find his mom and ask what the word meant._

_Some things_ _clicked_ _into place, though Bucky couldn't_ _quite_ _grasp the concept of love. What was love? Was it grabbing one of the remaining blue popsicles on Field Day, so Steve could get his favorite? Was it slowing his pace so Steve didn't have to over-exert himself when they were on the playground at school? Was it looking over Steve's_ _shoulder_ _to see what he was drawing, and commiting every single line that fell from the pencil's lead to memory?_

_If it was that, then Bucky definitely grasped the concept. When he went back to school, he didn't respond to any questions that were sent his direction. He continued on his merry way,_ _running laps on the_ _back_ _baseball field and throwing himself around on the monkey bars, right in line with his best friend._

______________________________

Steve closed Bucky's first front door behind them, and the two friends ran up the stairs, their dress slacks stretching from their movements. Three floors up, Bucky unlocked his apartment door, and closed it behind him once Steve was through.

Alpine chirped at them, having gone without attention for a few days too many. She rubbed up on Steve's legs before treading over to her owner.

Bucky shed his suit jacket and tossed it onto the couch before leaning down to scoop the white cat into his arms. He maneuvered the small feline into the crook of his arm before turning back to Steve, who was gazing at him with a fond look in his eyes. Bucky's bones turned to goo, but he brought himself to say in an even voice, "You still have some clothes in the linen closet."

Steve smiled and walked down the hall. Bucky sat down on the old rickety couch that his parents had given him when he moved out, kissing up an Alpine as he pulled his phone from his front pocket. Seven missed calls from Natasha, eight from Angie, eleven from Sam, four from Peggy. He decided it was best to not call anyone back yet.

He loved on Alpine, who was purring and chirping, until she was a melted pile of fur in his arms. It didn't take long, or much. All you had to do was scratch her ears a certain way and she was smitten.

Steve emerged from the hall some time later, wearing jeans and a T-shirt under the casual jacket he had grabbed on their way out. He quietly sat down beside Bucky, reaching over to rub his fingers against Alpine's cheeks. "Peggy's called me more than ten times."

"Nat, Angie, and Sam are spamming me," Bucky responded. After a few seconds, he inquired, "Are you sure you don't want to go back?"

Steve sighed, dropping his hand down Alpine's chest. She let out a loud, mechanical purr, that would have otherwise made them both smile. He said, "Not for a little bit."

"So...What's the plan? Because you can't stake out here without getting beef from them."

He was silent, face still as he thought. Finally, he wondered, "Want to go on a trip?"

Bucky scoffed. "Define 'a trip."

"I mean..." he looked up into Bucky's eyes, expression open to the entire world. "You've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon."

______________________________

_Bucky never fell off the rumor mill, especially when an eighth grader--who he had no idea even existed--caught him mid-first kiss with Tommy Eilson at the roller rink when they were in_ _seventh_ _grade._

_He had been upset--not because suddenly everyone knew his business more than they ever had, that his business was confirmed, but because it was wrong. His first kiss had been all wrong. He hadn't agreed to it--he had been caught off guard, suddenly smothered, and then it was strange._

_Wasn't it supposed to be mutual?_

______________________________

They stopped at a gas station a couple of small towns away from home. It was on the very edge of the freeway, flanked by a McDonald's and a Burger King, and had a Subway inside.

They just got cheap snacks. Steve legitimately squealed when he found Combos, the cheese-stuffed pretzel bites that they both had loved when they were kids, despite knowing they were absolutely nauseating. His friend's reaction make Bucky laugh, but they both grabbed different flavors and carried on their way.

When they bought their snacks and got back into the car, Bucky darted in front of Steve to get to the passenger seat. When Steve made an indignant sound behind him, he smirked and said, "Your shift. Least you could do after I paid for the disgusting pizza flavor."

"For your information," he started to defend, opening the driver's door and sliding into the seat. Bucky followed suit. "The Pizzaria Pretzel is the best out of all the Combos. Also, who are you to say, Mr. Buffalo-Blue-Cheese?"

He scoffed, shaking his head in rapid disagreement. "It's not that bad. Cheddar's clearly at the top."

"Oh, yeah." He rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth tilting up into a smirk. "Keep telling yourself that."

Bucky shoved at his shoulder, and Steve broke down into gorgeously ridiculous laughter, head tipped back and _everything_.

______________________________

_Bucky kissed his first girl in his freshman year._

_She was new to town, so she knew nothing that the entire school knew. She saw him for him. She hadn't seen the way he looked at Steve when he thought no one was looking. She was pretty, with her dark brown hair and the glitter she seemed to always be dusted with. Her dresses were cute, her Mary_ _Jane's_ _were predictable, and she was just...consistent. The longer she stayed, she got to know the rumors, but above them she understood_ him. _Her lips had been soft, her skin was smooth, and Bucky's second kiss was much better than the first. Nowhere near the roller rink, instead on the top level of the grand playground behind the ice skating rink, their legs entangled and their emotions mutual. Because apparently Bucky had a thing with rinks._

_Dot was special. Dot was a good friend. Then the car accident struck main street one Tuesday morning._

______________________________

Bucky was half asleep when Steve said, quietly, "I proposed to her because I thought that she was all I could get. Not in a bad way. I didn't settle. It's just...I've wanted someone else since I was in middle school. It finally reared its head again."

He scoffed, not opening his eyes. "What? Was it Natasha? Because let me tell ya," he waved a hand in the air between them, "been there, done that."

"You're so stupid."

"Who ya calling stupid, punk? I'll slap you, shut your mouth." He snuggled back into the awkward seat. "No, but really. Who was it?"

Steve didn't reply. Bucky didn't force him.

Maybe he should have.

______________________________

_Bucky had_ _no_ _idea what he was doing with Natasha Romanoff._

_It had happened their junior year. They made eye contact, they seemed to have a mental conversation, and all of a sudden they were in the back girl's bathroom that no one_ ever _went into. Her_ _mouth_ _was warm on his neck, the tips of his fingers felt the soft skin where her breasts_ _curved_ _down into her ribs, and the only thing_ _wrong_ _was the fact that they were in an echoey school bathroom_ _._

_They continued their mission Friday night,_ _when_ _her parents were out to dinner. Bucky lost his_ _virginity_ _to someone he did indeed love._

_It just wasn't what he truly wanted from_ _the_ _world. He wanted an artist with blond hair and blue eyes, that was obsessed with weight lifting and wrestling, who made him watch The Goonies every two weeks._

______________________________

When they passed through Indiana, Bucky navigated Steve through the highway exits until they made it into his hometown--Shelbyville. He had already texted his parents that they were coming in for a visit. When they drove through town, Bucky pointed out the hospital he had been born in, the bookstore his dad took him to every week (It closed! Assholes!), the playground two blocks away from his childhood home that his parents let him walk on his own to.

Steve parked carefully in the Barnes' driveway. He had barely stopped the car when Bucky jumped out, smiling and absolutely ecstatic. It was a feeling you were only able to get when you were coming _home._ Yeah, New York was great. There was nothing wrong with Brooklyn. But there was something about Shelbyville; it was a piece of himself that he could never shake loose.

Halfway up the driveway, a squealing toddler threw open the door inside the open garage. Screaming, "Bucky!" over and over again, Dominic ran between the cars, meeting Bucky in the middle only to get scooped up into his leather-clad arms.

"How old are you again?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "I swear, you were three, last I knew."

"I'm eight! I saw you last year, I wasn't three!" he squirmed in his arms, as if he wanted to be let go, but Bucky knew it was all part of the game.

Eleanor was the next to greet them. Seeing that her older brother was busy, she held her arms out to Steve, and they shared a sweet, brief hug. She asked them both, "What are you guys doing here? I thought there was a wedding?"

Steve froze. Bucky lowered Dominic back onto his feet and swooped in to rescue him. "Don't worry about it. Jesus, El, you're tall!"

She rolled her eyes, tucking a strand of her long dirty blond hair behind her ear. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mom and Dad are waiting. Anything I can take?"

Steve shook his head. "We got it. Thanks, Blondie."

______________________________

_Bucky met Peggy Carter first._

_She was in his history course. They sat beside each other and everything. She gave_ _him a_ _pencil when he only had the cases, when he had forgotten to grab new ones with erasers and lead. They let the other copy notes when one hadn't been able to catch something. He let her have sips of his coffee when it was all doctored up instead of plain black, which was usually an_ _occurence_ _when his time was cut short. They respected each other. She was as smart and quick as a whip. He sometimes accompanied her on her walk across campus to Econ 101. They would occasionally get coffee from the cart before their shared course started._

_She had started to become part of a routine, and Bucky was more than fine with it._

_When she made an appearance in his dorm, sitting on Steve's bed in his T-shirt--one Bucky had gotten for him--and boxers, he suddenly lacked any nice feelings for her._

_But on Monday, he set his Yeti on her desk. She gave him a pencil. Nothing had changed. Besides when he had first sipped his coffee after her, and wondered if there was some_ _remnant_ _of Steve on her perfect red lips._

______________________________

Bucky and Steve settled down in the large sunroom, Bucky stealing an overstuffed Lay-Z-Boy and Steve the couch. They made themselves at home, already glad for the comfort of sleeping in something meant for sleep after the one uncomfortable night in the car.

Bucky was seated in his chair, sweatshirt pulled over his T-shirt, one leg folded beneath him. He was pointedly ignoring Steve as he was changing, using his phone to distract him and give him a reason to not look up.

_**[10:48]** _ _**Bucky: Hey, man. Feed my cat?** _

_**[10:48] Sam: I got you.** _  
_**[10:49] Sam: How is he?** _

_**[10:49] Bucky: Thanks, I owe you. And not too bad?** _  
_**[10:49] Bucky: We're at my parent's. He needed to get away. We're going to Arizona.** _

_**[10:50] Sam: Any specific reason?** _

_**[10:50] Bucky: Dude. C'mon. The Grand Canyon.** _

Sam didn't reply, and Bucky figured it was safe to look up by then.

Steve stood there, rifling through his few belongings, looming over the floral-printed couch that was straight out of a 70s home decor magazine. He wore shorts.

Just shorts.

As a consequence, Bucky's body went back in time, and he blushed like he'd never blushed before. He averted his eyes again, back to his phone. Sam still hadn't replied.

His internal panic caught Steve's eye, apparently. Bucky knew this when he heard him ask, "You good, Buck?"

He forced himself to look up again, schooling his facial expression. "I'm fine." He steered the topic away, almost expertly. "Are you going to be okay? That couch is a rock."

"Better than the car." He shrugged. He folded one leg underneath him as he sat down, shoulder pressed to the back cushion, one leg hanging off the side.

Bucky grimaced lightly. "It's also too small."

"I can make do. Besides, if it means I get Winnie Barnes' waffles tomorrow, I'll sleep on anything." He waved his hand around before shuffling down on the couch, leaning back on the pillow he had placed in the corner.

His phone gave a small vibration in his palm. He looked down, only to find a picture of Alpine standing between Sam's feet, mouth open in a desperate yowl.

A message came a few moments later.

_**[10:58] Sam: Fed and loved on. I'll take care of her until you're back.** _  
_**[10:59] Sam: Don't fall off a cliff (;** _  
_**[10:59] Sam: I hope you realize that Steve took** _ _**you** _ _**on a honeymoon.** _

______________________________

_Natasha was Bucky's double date buddy. She was his last resort, when Steve wanted him to tag along but didn't want him to be an_ _unintentional_ _third wheel._ _S_ _o she was always beside him. He owed her, big time._

_He wasn't strong enough to tell Steve no, and he certainly wouldn't have been able to brave being a third wheel on his own._

______________________________

The boys were back on the road after a breakfast of waffles and fruit, having had last night's leftovers shoved at them on the way out.

Steve groaned once Bucky turned the corner, leaving the Barnes house behind them. Bucky just laughed as Steve rambled, "I felt smothered. I'm free - How did you do that for eighteen years? I've been doing it for, like, nine, and I can't take it."

"My parents are the best parents ever." He gestured to the backseat, where the Tupperware leftovers were nestled between their bags. "My mom sent you off with chicken and rice! That means she loves you like her own." He stuck a judgemental middle finger in Steve's face. "You should be thankful."

"Okay, okay, okay." He batted Bucky's hand away. "Radio, CD, or YouTube?"

"Let's try our luck. Radio." He pressed the power button, and the speakers came to life. He groaned in response to the song that was playing, a smile coming to his face. "I love this song."

"Buck. You love every song."

"No, I don't. Country sucks."

______________________________

_Bucky had no idea what to say when Steve told him he and Peggy were engaged._

_He wasn't surprised--he'd figured it would happen sooner or later._

_Everything he could think to say consisted of begging Steve not to go through with it and confessing his feelings._

_So he forced a smile, opened his_ _arms_ _for a hug, and exclaimed, "That's awesome!_ _I'm_ _so happy for you!"_

______________________________

"Hiking boots. Camping shit," Bucky droned, tailing behind Steve inside a Walmart in the middle of nowhere. It was kind of scary--it was almost completely devoid of people. That was a good thing, but he'd never seen one so empty, and it freaked him the fuck out.

  
After a while of following Steve around for a little while (he was the one who knew what he was doing), he said, "I think this place is haunted."

Steve snorted. "Really, Buck?"

"Why else would it be in the middle of nowhere?" He gasped, dramatically. "We're in a movie! _Killed In Walmart_! The nightmare of every midwesterner--we're midwesterners, pal, we don't go inside empty Walmarts! They're bad news!"

Steve's shoulders were shaking. He was laughing so hard that it was only a quiet wheeze. He stopped walking, keeling over the front of the cart.

Bucky slapped him on the back. "If I die in a motherfucking Walmart, you're the one who has to tell my mom."

Steve just laughed harder, finally making a sound. Through his laughter, Bucky could barely make out, "Come on," just before he pushed the cart forward to continue their journey through the bare store.

______________________________

_Then Steve wanted him to be his best man. Again, he wasn't surprised. He knew it was bound to happen._

_He couldn't tell Steve 'no' to save the life of him. And he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing._

_Saying 'yes' to that was one of the hardest things he'd ever done._

______________________________

With a triumphant guffaw, Steve dropped down beside Bucky, effectively getting even more sand all over his baggy jeans. Bucky looked back over his shoulder and nodded in agreement. "Nice tent building skills, Boy Scout."

Steve shoved him, and Bucky laughed.

He couldn't believe that he was seeing the Grand Canyon. He couldn't believe that he was _camping_ in the Grand Canyon. It was a dream come true.

And Steve was the one to make it happen.

The sky was beginning to go dark. Bucky nursed the fire he had built, coaxing it to get bigger. Once the sky was a deep blue, a couple stars poking through, he asked, "Why did you want to come out here?"

"I told you. You've wanted to see--"

"I know that," he intervened. "Why did you want to leave your wedding?"

Steve's shoulders deflated, and he leaned back on a small boulder, pulling his legs partway up to his chest. "I told you," he repeated. "I wasn't happy. Not as happy as I could be."

He pressed even further; "Why does something I said in middle school matter so much to you all of a sudden?"

"Everything you say matters, Buck." He shrugged, to downplay his footnoted confession.

Confession. Why would Bucky's mind immediately go to that? He wasn't confessing a thing.

But maybe...

_No._ But that didn't mean that Bucky couldn't push buttons.

"Sam said that you took me on a honeymoon," he recounted.

He scoffed, the corners of his mouth quirking up. He raked a hand through his hair, making it wild. "Of course, he did."

"Steve. Seriously. Why did you want to come out here?"

Steve didn't respond right away, leaving them in a staticky silence. Finally, he whispered, "I knew I couldn't marry her. Not with you just a few feet away." He glared down at his fi hers as he played with them, pushing his fingertips into the opposite heel.

Bucky moved so he was sitting beside him, facing him, his elbow thrown over Steve's lap. He gently carded his fingers through Steve's hair, tucking the honey-gold locks behind his ears.

"Peggy liked it short."

He shook his head slightly. "I like it long," he murmured, slowly leaning in. Steve met him halfway. Their noses bumped, awkwardly, and Bucky couldn't help but laugh. Steve smiled, his arms looping around his torso. The melted within a few seconds, once they remembered what exactly they were after.

They'd deal with the technicalities and the dirty details when they were on the ride back home. No matter what: the Grand Canyon exceeded Bucky's expectations.


End file.
